Day 15: February 11

SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 7:7-12

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHTS:
vs. 11 So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
 
Vs 12 Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
 
OBSERVATIONS:
Jesus encourages us to pray by telling us that God will respond to us. Jesus also tells us to pray continually. The tense of the Greek verbs translated as “ask, seek, and knock” indicate that the action called for is a continuous one.
 
The reason Jesus gives, in order to inspire confidence in us, that God will give us the good things we ask for is because we would expect nothing less from our earthly parents. My heavenly Father is even more loving than my earthly father and mother, and they wouldn’t hold anything good from me, so how much more will God answer my requests for “good things”.

Luke records this same teaching of Jesus (Luke 11:9-11) with one slight difference. Luke tells us that Jesus said, “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” This does not mean that either Matthew or Luke misquoted Jesus. It might simply be that Jesus gave this teaching on two separate occasions with the different wording. I have repeated many statements in my teaching and preaching over the years and many times there is some variation in the ways those statements were expressed.
 
The essence of loving your neighbor as yourself is to treat him/her the same way I would want to be treated.
 
APPLICATION:
Jesus wants me to be constant and persistent in prayer. I am not sure why this is important but I tend to think the Lord wants me to demonstrate my level of desire. There are times when the answer may not come right away. In Ch. 10 of the book of Daniel we discover that Daniel had prayed and fasted for three weeks before he finally received the understanding he was seeking in prayer. An angel of the Lord told him that his words were heard the first day but the angel who was to bring Daniel the answer was hindered by a demon in some kind of spiritual battle. It took 21 days for the angel to get to Daniel with the answer to his prayer. This is certainly a mysterious passage, and although it leaves us with many questions, it reminds us that there is spiritual warfare taking place when we are engaged in prayer. This is one passage that clearly speaks to why we should persevere in prayer and not give up if the answer doesn’t come right away.
 
I am also reminded that God does not reward everything I ask from him but only of those things that are good – especially the fruit and gifts of the Spirit! Sometimes my prayers may go unanswered because what I think is good for me is not what God knows is good for me.
 
Sometimes I do not know how I should treat people. Do they need mercy or do they need discipline and correction? One helpful question to ask is, “What would be the loving thing to do for that person? What is in their best interest? I want people to treat me in a manner that serves my best interests, not necessarily my self-interests.
 
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Help me to be constant and persistent in prayer. Teach me to engage and overcome the spiritual forces of darkness that oppose me in prayer!  Thank you for reminding me that you are the best father and you will never withhold from me anything that is for my good. Help me to show love to others in a way that even exceeds the love I expect from them.